Two Worlds
by TakeOneLook
Summary: Part 3 of The Bean Trilogy. Race and Bean are finally engaged, and everything is fine. That is, until a friend from Bean's past shows up. Will Bean be able to combine her friends from two very different worlds? Or will she have to choose between them?
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Here it is! The long-awaited (by, like, three people) conclusion to The Bean Trilogy!! (Any ideas for a new name for the trilogy? I don't like the title much.. It's sorta plain.)  
  
~~~  
  
Bean looked around the street, suddenly distracted from her conversation with Jack and David. Who had said her name? She scanned her eyes across the crowd of people around her, until here eyes fell on a tall, muscular, red-headed boy, at the age of seventeen. His face was spattered with freckles, and his bright green eyes stared intensely at Bean.  
  
"Teddy?" she asked, her voice squeaking  
  
Ted nodded, smiling.  
  
"Ohmygoodnessgracious!" she shrieked as she ran up to him, throwing her arms around his neck. "I haven't seen ya in forevah!"  
  
"How have you been, kid?"  
  
Bean looked at Ted quizzically. "Kid? I'm nearly a year oldah den youze!"  
  
"Hey where did you get that accent? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you'd been hanging out with street trash these past couple of years," he said jokingly.  
  
Bean cringed at Ted's choice of words, then she realized that he didn't know what she had been through since her adoptive parents died. She decided she should introduce him to some of the guys. "Heya, Ted, why don't I intraduce ya tah some o' me friends?"  
  
Ted nodded. "Sure, if it'll get us away from all these street rats. Is there a newsie farm around here or something?"  
  
Bean sighed as she ignored his question and dragged him off towards Jack and Mush.  
  
"Hey Bean, who's dis?" Jack asked as he eyed Ted up suspiciously.  
  
"Jack, Mush, dis heah is me ol' friend Ted Richards. I knew 'im when I lived in Queens wid da Parkers. An Ted, dese are two a' me frien's, Jack Kelly an' Mush Meyers.  
  
Ted looked at Bean strangely. "The Parkers? Sammy, why are you referring to your parents like they weren't even related to you? And why is this kid calling you Bean?"  
  
Before Bean could reply, Mush offered his hand out to Ted. "Nice tah meet ya, Ted!" he said cheerfully, being polite as he always was to strangers.  
  
Ted stared at Mush's hand, black from newsprint. He could read a few of the lines from the day's top story on his palm. Finally, after a long, awkward silence, and a lot of staring, Mush put his hand down.  
  
"What kind of a name is Mush?" Ted asked rudely.  
  
Mush looked at the ground, embarrassed. "Well, me real name's Derek, but when I was lil' dey called me Mush cuz a da color of me skin. Now dey call me dat cuz I turn tah mush every time I see a pretty goil," he looked up at Bean. "Which is every time I'm around you, B," he said in mock seriousness.  
  
Bean giggled. "Aww, Mush!"  
  
Ted feigned choking. "Sam, Sam, tell me this isn't your boyfriend!"  
  
Bean rolled her eyes. "Eww, no!"  
  
Mush pretended to be insulted. "I coulda done witout da 'Eww,' Beanie!"  
  
Bean continued. "My boyfriend, er, fiancé, is right ovah dere," she said, motioning towards a group of people a few yards away.  
  
Ted smiled when he saw a group of well-dressed people alking amongst each other. "Introduce me to this lucky man!"  
  
The two walked over, Ted slightly ahead of Bean. Ted stopped by the well-dressed group, but Bean continued on.  
  
After a few perplexed looks from the well-dressed group, Ted realized that Bean had walked on, and he ran to catch up with her. He was stopped dead in his tracks when he saw her with him.  
  
Bean grinned at Ted. "Ted, dis is Anthony Higgins, me future husband," she said proudly as she rested her head on Race's shoulder.  
  
Ted mouth hung slightly open as he stared at the couple. For the first time in his life, he was at a loss for words. "This.this.this is your. your. f. f. fiancé? But.but.he's.he's."  
  
Race's eyes quickly grew wide and he pulled Bean aside. "How do you know dis guy?" he asked urgently.  
  
"He's a childhood friend. I grew up next door tah him." she asked, perplexed.  
  
"But, he. he."  
  
"What?" Bean was baffled.  
  
Race shook his head. "Nevah mind." he said as he turned to leave.  
Bean grabbed his arm and pulled him back towards her. "What da heck is wrong with you, Race? Yer actin like some sorta psycho today."  
  
Race shook his head. "I'll tell ya latah, look, I gotta finish sellin me papes," and with that, Race whisked off, disappearing into the crowd.  
  
Bean turned back to Ted. "So, Teddy, what have you been up to lately?"  
  
Ted smiled. "Why don't you come back to Queens with me? You can see everyone again. We all wondered what happened to you."  
  
~~~  
  
**About an hour later**  
  
"Sammy Sammy Sammy!" Leona shrieked as she greeted her long lost friend. "What happened to you? You look great! Where have you been? Meet any new boys? Bet you couldn't find anyone better than your Teddy Bear. Have you lost weight? What have you been up to? Did you get a job? Or did you finish school? Or did you run away to join the circus? I don't see any clown makeup. I hope you weren't in Manhattan all this time. All those crude newsboys. The ones around here keep to themselves, but I hear Manhattan is crawling with those street rats. I can't believe how great you look! Did you."  
  
Bean put her hand over her best friend's mouth. "Leona, babe, take a breath. And tah answer yer questions, I lived on da streets, got taken in by da newsies, became one myself, then I took a job as a typesettah and now I'm a part time writer for the New York Sun. I've been in Manhattan the whole time. Yes, I met boys. Lots of them. Dated two of 'em, too. Skitts and Race. And now I'm engaged to Race. So yeah, I met one bettah dan Teddy. Yeah, bein' a newsie gives ya plenty of exercise, so I lost some weight. I finished school, and no, I didn't join the circus. Okay?" Bean took a deep breath. She wondered how Leona could talk so much without a breath.  
  
Leona pushed her silky black hair out of her eyes. "Wow. It seems like your life has been a lot more exciting than ours back in little old Queens. Nothing exciting ever happens around here. The biggest event so far this year is when Debbie fell in the pond in Central Park. Wait, did you just say you were ENGAGED?"  
  
Bean giggled. "Yep," she replied as her face turned seventeen shades of pink and red.  
  
"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!" Leona's mouth dropped open. "When's the wedding? You better invite me!"  
  
"Well, we haven't even been engaged a whole week yet, so we haven't exactly set a date."  
"Wait, what did you say his name was?" Leona asked curiously.  
  
"Race. Well, Anthony Higgins, really, but his nickname is Racetrack."  
  
Leona's faced scrunched up as she thought. "Why does that name sound so familiar? Racetrack Higgins.Racetrack." she trailed off.  
  
Bean looked at Leona, perplexed. Leona, however, just stared into space, brooding intensely.  
  
"Samammy!"  
  
Bean didn't even have to turn around. Only one person called her by that name. Peter.  
  
"Petah dahhhhling!" Bean said in a horribly fake British accent. "How are you!"  
  
"I'm wonderful!" he said, giving her a tight squeeze. Bean tousled his messy light brown hair as she gasped for oxygen. Peter, not knowing his own strength, was squeezing her lungs right out of her throat. Luckily, he loosened his grip as he tried to stop Bean from messing with his hair. "No touching the hair!" he said as he frantically tried to smooth it down, to no avail.  
  
A few hours later, Bean began her long trek back to Manhattan. She smiled inwardly as she reminisced about her childhood. She grew up on the same street as all her friends. She and Leona had windows right across from each other, and would stay up late at night, talking about everything, whispering across their yards. Ted lived on the other side, and Bean would awake every morning to pebbles being thrown at her window. She'd look out at the ground below and there Ted would be standing, flashing her that million-dollar smile of his. They'd always been close, and their other friends would tease them about how they were going to get married some day.  
  
As Bean approached her house, she saw Race standing in her yard with an angry look on his face.  
  
"Hey, sweetheart!" Bean called out to him, "Why da long face?"  
  
Race glared at her for a moment. "Bean, you were supposed tah meet me at Tibby's an hour ago! Where were ya?"  
  
Horror spread across Bean's face. "Oh, no! I completely forgot! I am sooo sorry!" she said as she approached him. "Ted wanted me to go to Queens with him to see my old friends, and I guess I just got distracted."  
  
"Hah, Ted, what a joke." Race muttered under his breath.  
  
"What was that," Bean asked, puzzled.  
  
"Aw. nuttin," Race responded.  
  
~~~  
  
A/N: So. Like it? Hate it? I don't know what I think about it yet. Should I continue? Review please! I'll give you a cookie! Or a fudge-dipped newsie of your choice! (Unless it's Specs or Itey.. I'm keeping those for myself!!) 


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, I decided to stick with this story! Yay! And I think I'm gonna keep the title, too. It kinda grows on ya. My apologies for the wait.. I've had this chapter typed up for a while but I kept forgetting to post it! *blush*  
  
~~~  
  
Bean shuffled in the door of Tibby's, a dreary look on her face.  
  
"Hey, what's wrong, B?" Kid Blink called out when he noticed her sullen disposition.  
  
"Aww, me an' Race got in another fight," she sighed as she walked towards him.  
  
Kid Blink shook his head. "As much as you two kids fight, I'm surprised you're still together," he said jokingly.  
  
Bean glared at him. "Shut it," she said firmly as she held up her fist.  
  
Kid Blink backed away slightly. "Watch it, Bean," he said defensively, "I was just joshin' ya!" He knew Bean couldn't do much to hurt him even if she wanted to, but he hadn't meant to make her angry.  
  
"Well it wasn't funny," she said sternly.  
  
"What happened wit you guys?" Mush asked.  
  
"I dunno," Bean said honestly, "ever since I introduced 'im tah Teddy, he's been actin' real strange."  
  
"Maybe he's jealous?" Kid Blink offered.  
  
Bean rolled her eyes. "If Race was the jealous type, why doesn't he get mad that I hang around you guys so much?"  
  
Kid Blink shrugged. "He knows us. This Ted character is new. To Race, that means a threat. Believe me, we've seen this happen wit every goil he's been wit."  
  
"And exactly how many goils have there been?" Bean asked, now appearing slightly jealous herself.  
  
Kid Blink's face grew red, realizing the trouble he had just created. "A... a few," he stammered, "not that many."  
  
Bean eyed him suspiciously, "Alright," she sighed, "whatever."  
  
~~~  
Race grumbled to himself as he sat cross-legged on the bunkroom floor, playing solitaire. He was losing, a rare occurrence for him. As he realized there were no more moves he could make, he flung his hand at the pile of cards in front of him, causing them to fly all over the floor.  
  
"Whoa, Race!" Jack said as he noticed the sudden display of anger. "What's eatin' you?"  
  
"None o' yer business, Cowboy!" Race spat at him as he stood up. Without even bothering to pick up the cards strewn across the floor, Race stalked out of the room.  
  
"Somebody's a sore loser..." Jack commented under his breath.  
  
~~~  
  
Spot Conlon looked out over the Brooklyn docks, surveying his territory as a king surveyed his country. He sat up perfectly straight, with a pride and arrogance found only in the leader of the Brooklyn newsies. Now that Mooch was in jail, now that he knew he had won, Spot was back to his old, haughty self.  
  
A pair of arms wrapped around Spot's neck from behind him. He could smell a soft, flowery scent emitting from the owner of those arms. "Hey, babe," he said as he turned around to face Sarah.  
  
"Hey," Sarah greeted him as she gave him a soft kiss. Spot started to melt, but caught himself and maintained his disposition. "So, how's the king of Brooklyn this afternoon?" she asked.  
  
Spot smirked, "Don't you mean the King of New York? Are you implying that there is a newsie somewhere in New York that is more respected and famous than me?"  
  
Sarah shook her head as she laughed. "Of course not," she said as she leaned in for another kiss. Sarah just couldn't get enough of Spot in the few weeks they had been together. Soon, the two were engulfed in a wave of passionate kisses that resulted in hooting and hollering from the Brooklyn newsies loitering around the docks.  
  
~~~  
  
Mush hummed to himself as he wandered down Bottle Alley. He still had a few minutes before the afternoon edition of the World came out. He was in the middle of a little dance to go along with the tune he was humming, when he sensed someone walking behind him. Immediately, his defenses went up. He turned around slowly, his fists up, ready to fight if it was Oskar or Morris. Fortunately, it was just some girl, wide-eyed and scared, like a cat stuck up a tree.  
  
"Can I help ya, ma'am?" Mush asked as he walked towards her, lowering his fists.  
  
The girl backed away, looking at Mush as if he were the big, bad wolf himself. "N... no..." she stammered, "I was just... just looking for a... a friend of mine."  
  
Mush smiled warmly at the girl, trying to assure her that he wasn't going to hurt her. "What's yer friend's name?" he asked her. "Maybe I can help ya."  
  
"It's, ah, Anna," she said, "Anna Willer."  
  
Mush grinned. "You mean Bean! I know 'sactly who she is!"  
  
The girl smiled. "Are you her fiancé?" she asked him.  
  
Mush blushed wildly. "Oh, gosh no! I'm jus' one of her friends. Dat lucky boy would be Racetrack. I'ze Mush." He stuck out his hand. "Nice tah meet ya... ah..."  
  
"Lydia," the girl said as she shook his hand. "And it's nice to meet you, too, Mush."  
  
"Why don't I help ya go find Bean," he offered. "I jus' gotta grab some papes tah sell on da way."  
  
"Oh, alright," she agreed as the two walked out of the alley.  
  
~~~  
  
"Race, why don't ya go out and sell da afternoon edition?" Blink asked his friend as he watched him pace back and forth across the lodging house lobby.  
  
Race didn't hear him, however. He was too busy mumbling to himself. "I don't know why she hangs out with dat guy! He's just a lousy, good-fer- nuttin bum dat just walks up and whisks away me goil! He makes me so mad, I oughta soak him!" He punched his fist into his hand.  
  
"Woah, dere, pal!" Blink said as he walked up to Race. "Calm down! What's da mattah?"  
  
"Nuttin, Blink, don't worry about it!" Race said, trying to appear as if he were fine.  
  
"Whatever," Blink mumbled as he headed out the door to go to the distribution office.  
  
Race sighed as he watched his friend leave. "Pull yerself tahgetha!" he scolded himself. "Don't let that Ted character get to ya!"  
  
~~~  
  
"Thoity papes!" Mush said as he slapped down fifteen cents on the counter. Weasel, who had gotten his job back after imploring Pulitzer for months, sneered at Mush as he shoved the papes under the bars.  
  
Mush hurried down the steps and scrambled towards Lydia, who was waiting just outside the gates. The crowd of newsboys in line for her papers intimidated her, so she waited outside for Mush to get his papers. "Ready to go?" she asked him cheerfully.  
  
"Yes ma'am," he said as he flashed his heart melting grin at her.  
  
As the two started out into the street, Lydia turned to Mush. "So, how do ya sell these things, anyways?"  
  
Mush glanced through the paper. "Like dis," he said. "Massive Explosion Causes Thousands to Go Hungry! Extra! Extra!"  
  
Lydia took one of Mush's papers. Flipping through the paper, she asked, "Oven fire causes bakery to close down for a week? Is that where you got the headline?"  
  
Mush nodded. "Ssshhh," he warned her, "keep it quiet." After he sold a few papes, he handed a few to Lydia. "Now you try."  
  
Lydia looked uneasy. "Ummm, Mush, I don't know..."  
  
"Go on," Mush urged her.  
  
Lydia bit her lip nervously. "Alright," she said, "here it goes." She walked out into the street. Before she even said a word, a crowd of people walked towards her. Lydia was ecstatic. At least, until the crowd walked right past her and into a shop.  
  
A bit disappointed, Lydia began to sell her papers. Or at least try to. "Buy a pape, mistah?" she said hoarsely to a man walking by. He didn't even acknowledge her. After about ten minutes of unsuccessfully trying to sell papers, Lydia sulked back to Mush. "I'm horrible," she whined.  
  
Mush smiled sympathetically. "Don't worry, you'll get better with time," he assured her as he took the papers back. "Took me nearly two months to get the hang of it. Lemme tell you, dat was a lot of nights sleepin' on the streets and scrapin' fer food."  
  
"Didn't your parents feed you or let you live with them?" Lydia asked.  
  
Mush frowned. "My parents are dead, Lydia. If they were alive, why on earth would I be living in that rundown lodging house?"  
  
Lydia clamped her hand over her mouth. "I am so sorry, Mush. I didn't even think—"  
  
Mush cut her off. "Don't worry about it. Now, whaddya say we go find Bean?"  
  
~~~  
  
Bean hummed softly as she shuffled into the lodging house lobby. "Heya, Kloppman!" she greeted the old man warmly.  
  
Kloppman didn't even hear Bean. He was preoccupied with some sort of paperwork at his desk.  
  
Bean giggled softly as she rolled her eyes. She was just about to head up the steps to the bunkroom, when a familiar voice spoke to her.  
  
"Why aren't ya with yer Teddy?" Race sneered from his spot on the ratty, broken-down couch.  
  
"Shove it, Race," Bean snarled at him as she continued upstairs. A moment later, she paused, and turned back around, walking slowly down the steps. "You know, I don't see what the big problem is! So I'm catching up with an old friend of mine! It's nothing to get yer knickers in a twist over!" She placed her hands on her hips defiantly as her eyes bore a hole into Race's forehead.  
  
Race stood up and began to slowly walk towards Bean, his facing burning a bright red. "I'll tell ya what the big problem is..." he growled at her.  
  
~~~  
  
Dun dun DUUUUUUUN! I was going to finish that scene, but the chapter was getting a bit long, so I decided to add SUSPENSE I mapped the whole plot line out in study hall last week! I have a PLAN! *cackle* Okay, I'm getting very mad-scientist-y now, so I'd better shut up.  
  
R&R&R (Read & Review & Recommend to your friends!) (That kinda rhymed!) 


End file.
